Grinding machine



Jan. 16, 1940. A. B. UTTERBACK GRINDING MACHINE 7 Filed Nov. 1, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 aiming/5 Jan. 16, 1940. A. a. UTTERBACK GRINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 1, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 M, flmww iving/s Jan. 16, 1940. A. B. UTTERBACK GRINDING MACHINE Filed Nov. 1, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 fade/2Z0) d zdrew'fi. UZZZQIZIQCK M, awww Qatar/a2 Patented JanQlfij,

grinding Q ada qoflawnlmowersi H V l t t lne'objeot ofwthe invention is to provide a machines, j @particnlarly machines machine havinga sharpening device preferablv a} :povver ope-rated grinding lwheel; which: lcanf be; eopadjustedwas to effect the disposition of l J the Wheel {in proper position ford grinding the v blades of a l lawn ;mower properly as the,

Wheel is moved laterally of the machine'inwa predetermined fiathiin the direction of the rotary .ELXiSfOf theloladesjf, Sinoethe cutting edges of the rotary blades of conventional lawn" mowers are curved or somewhat spirally' arranged in the cgilindrical path or orbits of rfo-tation thereof and the grindingv wheel is movable in a latgrahdireclion; m'ovision is made for rotating aQbIadeI- durthe sharpening operation so that successive 0 pe tionsof the edge of the'bladewill'move intota Fpi'edeterininedposition with respect to the grind ing' whzeel duringthe lateralymovement of the.

latter whereby the edge :of the blade will be" I particularly adapted forgrindingftheblades of; i

lawnmowerfs'although, as will be seen, it may be t grcundnniforrnly throughout its length,

25 Another object of :theiinventionis to provide 4 armachi newhich isso .adjustablewith res'nect to i rwjell The embodiment "of the 'inventionselected for the purpose of illustration comprises a pair awsi'qpported articleto be sharpened that the grinding whee l of the machine is movable insucn l l 3 direction as to assure the desiredjunif orin l results i With thefipresent fimprojvementsgit is not neces- 5: 1 to adjust a lawn mowe' ifwhether of thehhand I oirkipower'operated type, or other device '13.) be

sharpened; by the machine, in-a precise positiony forgrinding out only inayconvenient grinding positiojn'sincetheadjustability of theypr esent ma chine facilitatesthe expeditious adjustment ofv t the grinding wheel to the {edge to be "sharpened. t Thus; in? grinding the blades of a lawn imo'werj jthe blades ean be yground proper'li bywth'e' present [4.0 machine"whethertherotary axisof the blades be positioned for grin trulyhor'izontal i @h machmew or aiiangedjprecisely inlaiplane at right 5 sin -ms to, t ibngitndindl axis of the machine" f o rwhether the blades tobe sharpenedhave' been t "m; or groui dfdown on one end rnorethan on i the other.

Other objects and advantages of the present.

.roveihents will be apparent from a cor isideraq the present improvements, 1 parts of on hi" meddle-sing specification and aocom atop plan view of a grindingQmachine' ne beingfshown in section fforlthe put-1f Fig. 2 isarj1 end elevation of thenifaehine shown] 1 inFigQlyi pte'difortuse in sharpeningtherotafy knives 1 line 3-3 of Fig. 1; l i i t Fig 4 a broken horizontal sectional view: 5 taken ou line 4-4 of Fig. 3; i 1

Fig. 5 is a broken sectional'side, elevation taken on line 5 5 of Fig, 1 showing a diagrammatically representedJawn: IllOWiIfll'l grinding positionlin the machine; i

Fig. 6 is an enler gedbroken sectional view member shown in -detached relation;

Fig. 8 isfa:perspectivevi ew of a blade guide fi v Fig. 10 "is a detached perspective view of a imodified 'guide plate shown in Fig-9;

In *th'eydrawings, the machine as illustrated is ,liSEdfOI' sharpening or grinding other articles as of longitudinally arranged bed members indisated generally 'by thenumeral l0, reach in; the 30 embodiment illustrated, comprising alowerangle taohed to meinbers liltandinte 'mediate the ends to similar members My Between the: pair of membersylli; 1'3 and H, M which are rec essed; extend' trans verse vbrace or stifiening barsor rods l5 and l6;respectively, which are retained in recessesof the respective members I3 and by any suitablemeanssuch as setwscrewsl'l which jw Mpermit 10f the readyassembly or disassembly of 29 at their rear ends and are threaded as shown hedmembers glll. l l i I .Mounted; oh the bars 82 at each side of the machine aretv iolstandards El -and 22 and 23 and Mgthe firstmentioned pai-r being at the left hand sidefof l and the latter pair on the-opposite V "side: 'ifhese standards are of;similarconetrlim 1 tion and, as shown in Fig. 3, each is provided with a slot at its lower end for receiving one of the bars l2 which constitute guides for the standards. The standards 2| and 22 are'attached together for movementlongitudinally of the bed in unison,

" a bar 26 being shown as theattaching means.

The pair-= of standards 23 and. 24 are likewise attached together by a bar 21. p i

The standards are provided at their lower ends with transverse openings 28 and 29 between which is a horizontal shelf or bridge'30. The lower opening 29 bisects the lower bifurcated portion and forms four legs, two 'arrangedfor disposit ign on the outside ofthe bar l2 and two onthe inside, The outer legs are each designated of the bar. by the numeral 3i andthe inner legs by the v numeral 32. As shown in Fig. 4, one of each of a the legs 32'of the standards -22-and-"24 is-provided with'a'threaded horizontal passage 33 therethrough while the other isprovidedl with a slightly lar er unthreaded: passage 34'; The correspond- 'ing legs of the rear standards 2| and 23'. are

}23 and -through the openings' 33 and 34 of the legs of the rear standards. It will therefore be. seen thatas the shaft I8 is rotated means fofthe respective cranks IS, the standards mounted on the respective shafts will be moved forwardly or rearwardly of the machine in unison,

..that is,-turning' the'shaft atone side of thema chine will m'ove the pair of standards on that .side while turning the" shaft on the opposite side be adjusted longitudinally andin' unison.

- The four standards arelikewi'se-prov'ided with :vertical-"shafts as; having rank armsfss at their iupper ends-saidshafts being journaled in trans verseportions of the respective standards, such i n' the "standards are track supporting I members '38 each having a pair of legs 38aandj38b through threaded openings in which the respective thread:

means of itscrankBBJa member 38 may be raised "or lowered depending upon the direction of rota- 5' 5 standards 'Z! and 23 by'mea-n's ofthe respective a so that the handle 55 thereof extends down- This disposition of the lawn mower provides access to the reel structure 56 which tion cf, the shaft. The slots 31 of the standards --Fig-.-:6)--and hencefthe members 38 .can pivot a chinesuiiiciently to form supportingshoulders v 38 c,=uponwhich may be' positioned the ends of cylindrical tracks 39 and l fl, that ,is; the two members 38 support track member 39 while the standards 22 and 24, similarly Support. the trans- -verse trackmember 413. The endsof each of the track-imembersas shown in Fig. 3 are slotted to enable the same to slide downwardly over the sh'oulders 380,- the slotted ends being provided with suitable slotted plugs '4l -to1prevent osci1la tion of therespective t-r'ackson a horizontal axis.

"-Rota-tion-of the left hand shaft -|8,-for example,

inone direction-will -cause thetwostandards 24 chine' extend through-the above mentioned unthreaded openings of the rear standards El and,

enables the corresponding pair of standards to asfportion's 35 -Qand 35b. Mounted on thethreaded-shafts in vertical slotsor openings 37 ea: shaft 35 extends. By rotating aishaft 35 by machine on the forward track 49. =ment provides a carriage structure which may be are-wider than thelthickness of the legs 3 8a (see and 22- to be moved forwardly of the machine or. downwardly as viewed in Fig. 1, the brackets or supporting members 38 pivoting about their respective shafts 35 to enable the track members 39 and 40 to assume a diagonal or oblique position with reference to the bed members. It will be seen that while the tracks 39 and, 48 may be raised or lowered by the respective shafts 35 and'moved forwardly or rearwardly by their shafts l8, they remain in parallel vertical planes due to the fact that each pair of standards is connected by one of the side bars 26 or 21 and thus remains a fixed distance apart longitudinally of the machine.

The standard shown in Fig. 3 is standard '2! of Fig-.1, that is, it is one of the rear standards. Each of these rear shafts 35 preferably has a chain sprocket 42 mounted thereon at its lower end within the respective horizontal passage 23. Rotation of the shaft 36 of either of such stand- 'a rds will not only raise or lower the .track supporting member 38 but will rotate sprocket 42 :shafts 35 are independently operable for altering .the inclination of the track 40 with respect to the horizontal.

The grinding mechanism preferably. comprises a carriage indicated generally by the numeral 44 which, at its rear end, supports an electric motor 45, on the shaft of which is mounted a belt pulley .46 which, by means of belt 4?, drives a pulley 18 of a'grinding wheel 49 suitably journaled adjacent th e". forward end of the carriage M. The

rear "end of: the carriage preferably is. provided with apair of wheels orv rollers 53 which travel transversely of the machine 'upon the rear track :39: The forward end of the carriageis provided ,with "a detachable plate 5i shown in detail in Fig: 8 which carries a forwardly projecting stud orshaft 52 upon which is mounted a single wheel or 'roller 53 which travels transversely of the This arrangelifted upwardly from the tracks or as conveniently replaced thereon. The shaft 52 is of such length as to enable the wheel 53' to move sufficiently longitudinally of'the shaft to enable it to remain in engagement with the track Mlwhen the tracks 39. and 40 are adjusted to different horizontal positions.

A lawn mower to be sharpened is placed beneath the machine which preferably is supported at a suitable elevation by means of legs 54, the lawn mower mechanism being inverted Wardly.

carries the cutting blades or knives 51. The

When a'lawn mower has been so positioned, the

operaton-by turning the shafts l8 by means of theircranks i9 advances the standards forwardly or rearwardly as may be necessary in bringing the grindingwheel 49 into approximate position over the blade to besharpened.

*By rotatingjthe Vertical shafts of either of the rear standards 2| and 23, the rear track ymernber Bdmay be raised or lowered butretained, however, in a horizontal position. simi- 0larly," byoperating the threaded shafts of the forwardstandards 22 and 24,the forward track member All may be raised or lowered more at one end'than at the either, if desired, for effecting the proper disposition of the track for guid- 25 mg the grindingfwheel in the desired path of operatien transversely of the machine.

"The carriage end plate 5| is provided with an adjustable threaded stud 6| which, as shown in i Fig. 5, is arranged to abut a surface of a'blade El tofbe ground. The bladesof lawn mowers are generally so shaped that the cuttingedge thereof is helically disposed in the cylindrical surface of its orbit! When a mower has been placed in positionon a machine initially, the 35, tracks 3d and Gil are adjusted longitudinally of i e the machine and verticallyto efi'ectethe disposition of the grinder wheel over one end of the blade to be ground when such endis in substam tially; the vertical position. As the carriage is 40 i moved transversely upon the tracks, the stud 6|, when properly adjusted, willeffect rotation of the blade reel so as to bring successive portions or the edge of the blade to be ground uniformly into grinding position; Should it be found, after ranking the initial setting of the machine to a the grinding wheel, that the cutting edge of a blade does not remain in registration with a mark, such asthe pencil mark 62 formedon the of the grinding wheel, as the wheel is moved transversely} of the machine, one er thef other of the s iaits it is adjusted to align the path of mow ent of the mark I52 with the cutting edge.

of uni r8 blade so that the blade will be ground nly throughout its length if desired, 'it

bein understoodthat the forward track 40 is adjusted vertically so as to assure such result. Should a blade have been sharpened at one end in with such edge :by vertical adjustment ofthe end oftthe forward track 4i) so that as the r e is reciprocated, it grinds uniformly along 4- thti 1: ing such improperly ground .or unevenly worn if; truing up the edges so thatthey are of uniform distancethroughout from therotary axis of the reel, the forward track member is] adiusted so that at each 'end of the brinding ion each the cutting surface of riding wheel will be a predetermined distanae from the rotary axis of the reel.

liiawn mowers of different sizes and makes maybesupported in recesses 52a, 58b orfitc as 75 found most convenient. Mowers of certain une than at the other, the grinder can be. aused to move into proper grinding contact n'gtli of theblade, Should a mower havedges be placed inthe machineforthe purpose,

usual rnakesflmay requiretheremoval of the brackets 58 as by releasingthe wing nuts 58d,

for example, and placing the brackets farther rearwardly of the is machine and attachingthem at the openings 58c, for example.

e In sharpening lawn mowers of the power type, it has been found necessary or desirable to support thesameby means other than the brackets 5%. In Fig; 9, for example, (54 indicates gen-Q erally a power type'lawn mower which maybe supported by; any suitable means, such as a jack or by chains (not shown) or upon a pedestal or stationarysupport shown diagrammatically, at

5:1. sharpening such a mowenthe plate 5|" shown in Figs. 1 to 5 and Fig. 8 is removed and aplate of, the type'jdi'sclosed in Fig. 10 is substituted. 'Ihispla'te indicated generally by the numeral (it is provided with a threaded boss 67 which carries an adjustable threaded stud 68 which engages a surface of a blade as above described for turning the blade as the carriage is moved laterally for effecting the disposition Of. successive portions of the blade in proper grinding relation with respect to the grinding 25 wheel. fTh plate also is. provided with a sec ond threaded stud 59 which contacts and slides al'ongthe bed or shear blade H! of the machine which is shown in inverted position. The car riage M, instead of traveling on the two tracks as and it is arranged with the rear portion thereof over the forward track M3. The forward end of the carriage is guided by the contact of the stud 6! with the bed plate "Ill of thetmachinet The disposition of the carriage for-grindinga power or other lawn mower which cannot be supported by thebrackets is indicat'ed in i also in dotted lines. By adjusting the stud the forward end of the carriage can be raised or lowered, which movement can also be eifected by the vertical adjustment of thehtrack. 4% by the operation of its vertical shafts seas above described. For sharpening the bed or' shear blades eta lawn mower, that is,suchas the blade Ti! of the mower shown in 9, .itmay be positioned upon the brackets and theme-chine adjusted so as to effect the proper grinding relation of, the wheel 49 with [the of the blade. to be ground, the blade being preferably} attached to the brackets 58 'ihy any suitable means such as clamps or held in -positionx manually during the grinding operation. 1

The construction of the grinding machine abeve described is such that the grinding wheel is adjusted into propergrinding relation with an edge or article to be sharpened while the latter is supportedin ,a convenient position arranged generally transversely of the machine although, due to the latitude of adjustment of the grindiii'gcwheel, the precise adjustment of the edge to be ground either with respect to a horizontal plane orwith reference to its angle to the longitudinal axis of the machine is not required. In other words, the edge to be ground bedisposed at an angle to the horizontal and also somewhat diagonally of the bed of the machine since the adjustments described enable the grinding wheel to be moved laterally of the machinevte eifect a proper grinding of such edge throughout its length. In. actual use, it has been found that where a mower is supported as described by brackets adjustment of the forward track dilfroin parallel position with respect to theme 60 is necessary, due probably towear of bearings or other parts during use.

"Wherr the grinding wheel has been adjusted to,,the-proper position, the current to the motor is turned on as bya convenient switch I2 shown in Fig. 1 and the carriage moved by hand transversely of the machine from one end of the blade to; the other. If more than one passage of the grinding wheelacross the length of the blade is required, the operator may turn one of the cranks 3 6 of the rear standards 2| and 23 in a direction to lower the track 39 leaving the forward track inits original position. Since thedistance from the center of the grinding wheel to the track 39 is considerably greater than the distance from the center of the grinding wheel to the track 40, the

lowering of the track 39 can be so effected as. to so lower the grinding wheel that on the second passage of the same along the edge, only'a minute cut of the blade edge will be made. Due to the fine adjustment possible by this arrangement, the blades can be ground to within extremely close dimensions. In the present embodiment of the invention, the ratio of the distance from the center of the grinding wheel to the rear track to the distance from the center of the grinding wheel to the forward track is approximately four to one.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my improvements for the purpose of illustration, it Will be apparent that various changes in construction may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

'- -I claim: j I

.;.-.l..A grinding machine comprising a pair of parallel bed members, connected front and rear through a member to be ground and disposed generally transversely with respect to said bed members, means carried by said standards for varying the elevation'of said. tracks, and a carriage mounted on and movable longitudinally of said tracks and comprising a grinding wheel for grinding the member to be ground.-

2. Sharpening apparatus of the class described comprising a pair of spaced bed members, a pair of standards on each of said members movable along the same as a unit, transverse track members supported by corresponding standards of said pairs, grinding means on said members comprising a carriage having a grinding member movable longitudinally of said track members, and mechanism for adjusting said grinding member into grinding relation with a member to be sharpened comprising means for adjusting said track members longitudinally of said bed and vertically within parallel vertical planes.

3. Sharpening aparatus comprising a pair of parallel bed members, a pair of standards carried by each bed member, each pair of standards being movable as a unit longitudinally of the respective bed members, transverse front and.

rear track members articulately attached to the front and rear standards of said pairs of standards a carriage comprisinga grinding wheel movable longitudinally of said trackmembers, and

meansforadjusting said standards longitudinally of said bed and vertically of said standards into grinding relation with a device to be sharpened disposed generally transversely with reference to said bed members. R .4. A grinding machine comprising a bed, a pair of transverse tracks disposed above the same in parallel vertical planes, a carriage movable on said tracks in the direction of the length thereof and comprising a grinding wheel reciprocal by said carriage in grinding relation with ablade to be ground, vertically adjustable supports-for theends of said tracks for. varying the elevation thereof, and means for independently advancing or retracting said track supports and tracks longitudinally of the machine for varying the angular disposition of the tracks with respect to the bed. '5. A grinding machine comprising a carriage having a grinding wheel thereon, tracks sup.-

, porting said carriage for reciprocation longitu dinally thereof, supporting means for the ends of said tracks, means for effecting the adjustment of said supporting means vertically for altering the elevation of said tracks and the carriage thereon, and means for effecting the longitudinal adjustment of said track supporting members for varying the angular disposition of said tracks with resppect to the longitudinal axis of the machine for effecting the alignment of the path of reciprocation of the grinding Wheel with the edge of a device to be ground.

"6. A grinding machine comprising a pair of parallel bed members, front and rear standards on each of said bed members, articulate track supports carried by said standards, a pair of track members one carried by the track supports of said front standards and the other by the track supports of said rear standards, a carriage reciprocal on said tracks longitudinally thereof, a grinding wheel on said carriage, means for independently-adjusting each pair of said standards longitudinally of the bed members for effecting a predetermined angular disposition of said tracks with'respect to said bed and means for independently adjusting said front supports vertically whereby said front track can be disposed at an angle to the horizontal for guiding said Wheel in grinding relation with respect to an edge to be ground.

'7. A grinding machine comprising a supporting bed, a pair of track members disposed in parallel vertical planes, supporting means for said track members carried by said bed,'means for adjusting in unison corresponding ends of each track member longitudinally of said bed, means for independently adjusting said tracks vertically, a reciprocal carriage on said track members, a grinding device on said carriage, and track engaging wheelson said carriage shiftable relatively axially for accommodating the same to variations in the longitudinal spacing of said tracks during adjustment of the same. i

8. A grinding machine comprising adjustable front and rear track supports, one of each being arranged at'opposite sides of the machine, front and rear tracks articulately supported at each end by the corresponding supports, grinding means comprising a wheeled carriage reciprocal on said tracks and comprising a motor operated grinding wheel located intermediate the ends of said carriage, and mechanism for adjusting said wheel into grinding relation with respect to an edge to be ground during reciprocating movement of the carriage comprising means for simultaneously adjusting said rear track supports verfor simultaneously adjusting said rear pair of tically, means for independently adjusting said said carriage, a pair of frontand a pair of rear adjustable supports for articulately supporting the ends of said tracks, means forrelatively ad justing the front pair of supports vertically, means supports vertically and means for simultaneously adjusting one front and one rear support long-i tudinally with respect to said bed and independently of the other supports for eflfeeting the disposition of said tracks for guiding the reciprocable movement vof said grinding wheel in predetermined relation With respect to an edge to be ground. i

ANDREW B.- UTTERBACK 

